This qualitative case research study incorporated comprehensive data analysis procedures on an administrator’s and teachers’ participatory perspectives within a selected southwestern Texas public high school as they relate to the implementation of federally mandated active shooter drills while supporting students’ psychological, social, emotional, and physical health. Data saturation was obtained from this single source of evidence.In order to address this study’s research questions, the results of the interview questions were presented in terms of five distinctive themes and four specific
connections. These themes and connections describe the qualities of Safety Response Protocols relative to public school active shooter events. This study’s participants reported an overall complementary view of SRPs response policies and shared their perceptions on the best training for active shooter drills.
Summary of Findings
The prevalence of increased active shooter events demands more professional and critical training for school faculty and students. During this research study, it became apparent that the need for a well-thought-out crisis plan grounded in collaborative team efforts that consisted of effective communication and consistent annual training of administrators, teachers, counselors, students, and local protective agencies will
significantly reduce the psychological and/or physical injuries during active shooter drills and/or active shooter events. Many teachers feel that the acting out of injured or deceased victims and the thought of being locked down at any moment can be psychologically
draining for all involved. While some teachers feel that students are immune to active shooter drills due to their massive exposure to electronic violence and expressed desires to bring weapons to school to “shoot everybody,” other teachers feel that many students are traumatized and experience reoccurring emotional issues as a result of the announced/ or unannounced active shooter drills and that students expressing harming others should be held accountable for exposing their criminal thoughts. Some teachers oppose active shooter drills and express anxieties at the thought of having to sacrifice their lives to protect students, especially if they have children of their own. During an active shooter drill, some teachers were psychologically and physically frightened and intimated, stating that it is a “stressful and scary” experience to be instructed to tackle police officers and prepare themselves for injury.
Some teachers can only imagine what it is like for students based on their own anxieties, as some students are currently taking medication for anxiety and are unable to sleep after having been in an active shooter drill. There has not been much dialogue on what to do with the students emotionally during an active shooter event. As the new school year approached, and with the COVID-19 pandemic underway, everyone's mental health state was challenged beyond normal ranges. One of the fears that teachers are concern with is student mental breakdown and may trigger an active shooter event. Fortunately, school counselors are available for students and teachers experiencing active shooter drill emotional trauma. Teachers feel that having a rapport with students based on effective communicationcan be beneficial for mitigating fears and anxieties. School programs, such as Student Watch and teacher and student mentorship promote mental
health and reduce student fear while detecting those students demonstrating emotional concerns. Teachers expressed the stress involved from not divulging detailed
preparedness tactics to students, as a potential classmate may gain knowledge on how to effectuate an active shooter event. Teachers revealed that there are no specifics guidelines on what to do during an active shooter drill or how to effectively handle emotionally charges students during an actual active shooter event other than keep them calm, prepare them to defend, and get them out of the building.
Interpretation of the Findings
My interpretation of the findings reveals that there are numerous cross-participant response similarities relative to the many important processes occurring within the school during the implementation of SRPs to completion of active shooter drills. The
participants’ response similarities provided valuable paradigm shift within the selected school safety protocols in respect to improving active shooter drills and how they should unfold. Tables 1 and 2 illustrate the interface between the study’s themes and DeVos’ policy recommendations for improvement.
Table 1
Counts of Interview Responses Interface with DeVos’ Policy Recommendations for Improvement
Active shooter drills Themes
Prevention Protection &
mitigation
Response & recovery
Purpose Success 6 Needs for improvement 5 Success 3 Needs for improvement 7 Success 0 *Needs for improvement 11
School climate & overall communication Success 7 Needs for improvement 4 Success 9 Needs for improvement 2 Success 6 Needs for improvement 5 Partnerships & proactivity Success 8 Needs for improvement 3
*Parental Involvement Success
8 Needs for improvement 3 Policies and procedures Success *11 Needs for improvement 0 ESSA understanding 3 Success *11 Needs for improvement 0 Success 2 Needs for improvement (after a drill/attack) 9 Administrative responsibilities Success 7 Needs for improvement 4 Success Needs for improvement Success Needs for improvement Teacher responsibilities Success 7 Needs for improvement (*inconsistencies) 4 Success 7 Needs for improvement 4 Success 0 Needs for improvement *11 Strengths and/or weaknesses in the current execution of drill implementation Strategy details explaining delineation Strengths 8 Weaknesses 3 Strengths 7 Weaknesses 4 Pros 2 Cons 9 Overall positive perceptions of the effectiveness of drill implementation
9 8 *participants are not
aware of the crisis plan’s response & recovery plan or how it is implemented. Overall negative perceptions of the effectiveness of drill implementation 2 3 participants are
concerned about drill inconsistencies
*participants are not
aware of the crisis plan’s response & recovery plan or how it is implemented.
Execution of drill implementation, success and/or system failure Success 9 Needs for improvement 2 Cons *Finetuning Cons *Needs Follow-up student well-being outcomes (trauma, anxiety, and fears aka harmful psychological, social, emotional & physical effects) Success 8 Needs for improvement 3 Success 7 Needs for improvement 4 Success 2 Needs for improvement 9
Note. The table shows the counts of participant responses interface with DeVos’ Policy Recommendations for areas within the implementation of active shooter lockdown drills (ex. Bold numbers represent the amount of participants who agreed to the area of implementation as a success or in need of
improvement*denotes needs for improvement from all participants
Table 2
Programs and Initiatives for Student Well-being
Safety response protocol characteristics
Programs & initiatives Participants
Prevention STOP IT app
*Student TV *Student Press
Student council, extra curricula activities (sports, dance, band, theatre, orchestra)
*Alma Mater & Fight Song Mentor Programs,
advisory period **One Voice
**Meet the Teacher Night, *Teen Squad, **Diverse Abilities Day
Counselor Corners Initiatives (co-teach SEL lessons, Etc.) *Best Buddies, Art Club, DECA, National Honor Society, HOSA, TAFE,
P2
P5
P1, P2, P11, P5,
P3, P4, P6, P7, P8, P9, P10
P1, P7
Community Service Initiatives Protection and Mitigation
Student Watch Advisory Period
P1
Pep Rallies promoting comradery,
Youth and Government, *Black Student Union,
*Curriculum Night,
*Family Dinners Fundraisers, *Coffee with the Counselors (Parent Involvement) *Girls in STEM
P6, P7, P8, P9, P10, P11
Response and Recovery
*Cafeteria Lunch to Go for Virtual Learners
*Request a Counselor Assistance Bar Code
SROs P11, P5 P7, P6, P9
Note. *denotes programs within campus not mentioned in interviews
**denotes district safety programs and initiatives
Limitations of the Study
Several aspects could be considered limitations within this study. The study’s interviews were limited to one specific southwestern high school district in the state of Texas. Numerous study participants expressed the school district’s need to establish and communicate recovery and response staged to be applied during the active shooter drill crisis training. The study’s participants’ responses made it apparent that the administrator and teachers want to be adequately informed on the latest Federal, State, and local
mandates relative active shooter response protocols and other school safety requirements. Campus administrators are acquiring buy-in from all stakeholders to limit procedural inconsistencies and are needed to train staff and students through initiating the Train-the- Trainer Model. Some of the study’s participants responses focus on designing a specific plan that will help accommodate students with a specific need to engage in the active shooter drills; use discussion-based and functional drills to practice safety response
protocols response and situational awareness skills; to confront and work with dismissive staff members; to develop and implement a continuous training plan, and to expand the safety response protocols to neighboring schools/districts.
The study’s findings were obtained during one-on-one Zoom interviews
separately from 11 high school participants. The number of sites and participants allowed for data saturation; however, it accounted for a diminutive representation of the actual number of school districts and faculty within the state of Texas, which are currently using the Safety Response Protocols as a response to active shooter attacks. The limited
participatory high school sites are a factor, as this study focuses on one high school. Some of the interviewed participants had a part in extending the Safety Response Protocol programs to lower school or community levels. Additionally noted, the Safety Response Protocol programs were implemented within these high school districts and communities during active shooter training and displayed similar characteristics of DeVos’ policy recommendations and programs. At this time, I decided to gauge the implementation of a safety response protocols for further examination. Unfortunately, this magnitude policy can never be thoroughly examined until the policy is tested during an active shooter event. Additionally, all participants’ experiences and perceptions were limited, as none have ever experienced an active shooter event.
Recommendations
There has been limited empirical research regarding the use of the Safety
Response Protocols related to active shooters drills in schools and from the perceptions of a school administrator and teacher participants and should be studied. Additionally, as
indicated in this study’s findings, the corresponding research on effective methods to mitigate the negative psychological consequences of mandated school security response training should increase, as well. The results from this study surmise that
recommendations for future research relative to the implementation of mandated Safety Response Protocols might include the following: 1) continued research relative to emergency operations plans and policies within public schools; specifically, in the areas of a) prevention; b) protection and mitigation; c) response and recovery. Districts should have piloted Safety Response Protocols within elementary and/or middle schools; that models useful high school active shooter drills. 2) Develop comparison and contrast research between Safety Response Protocols and the actual implementation of an active shooter drill related to the framework of collaborative efforts expressed in DeVos’ policy recommendations for improved student outcomes.
As discussed in Chapter Two: Literature Review, one of the essential attributes of a safe and academically productive school is that it derives from having an established positive school climate (Aldridge & McChesney, 2018). Further research focused on the impact of Safety Response Protocols relative to active shooter drills depicts that creating and maintaining a positive school culture is critical to school safety. An increase of empirical research on active shooter drills and/or training that incorporated the
experiences and perceptions of its collective participants will help effectively students and teachers become more resilient and readily able to adapt to an ever-changing world. Additionally, implementing ongoing professional safety developmental and training programs and/or initiatives for all faculty members that established a thoroughly
comprehensive knowledge base of the school’s active shooter programs is much needed. This includes procedural safety handbooks, classroom safety binders, videos, safety conferences, and regular meetings. It is unacceptable for any faculty member not to understand or be familiar with the primary purposes or the ESSA’s initiative practices.
Implications
With the increase of active shooter events on our nation’s school, since
Columbine, active shooter drills are ever-changing and demanded by the educators who are responsible for the safety and well-being of students; thus, making it a critical concern for increased and improved training and implementation designed to better protect and prevent active shooter events, according to those who participated in this research study. Teacher volunteers acting as injured or deceased victims of the drills have caused some teachers to have experienced emotional setbacks. These participants’ high school teachers had been carefully chosen and given a debriefing before and after the active shooter training by the school SROs at which time the teachers could opt-out. The rationale behind training with actors as active shooter victims provided Emergency Medical Services (EMS) an opportunity to practice new emergency response protocols and new techniques for responding to the need of the injured or removing the deceased; while law enforcement officers preserve the active shooter. This practice engaged teachers participating in active shooter drills from classrooms to rapidly evacuate their training classrooms without panic to allow the first responders an opportunity to
experience teachers fleeing for safety when the first responders were actively engaged in their duties to save school campus lives. More complex active shooter training engaged
simulated toy firearms with loud noises were used as sound mimicking gunfire to help officers and teachers more aware and locate the active shooter; and were discharged during this time. The use of mimicking gunfire, toy guns, or similar sound is a critical technique for locating the active shooter’s vicinity. All participants were informed on the rationale behind using this technique and would hear it throughout the drill. The teachers involved handled themselves as instructed by keeping quiet when told. This entire drill exercise was comprehensively documented throughout the exercise. To demonstrate transparency, the training event was also covered extensively at the end of the training summarizing the school the active shooter drill exercise from the staff, stakeholders, or community partnerships.
Additionally, the study’s participants believed that students' active shooter drills and subsequent training should be regularly taken more seriously by students, and the active shooter drills should be announced.
Conclusion
There were many cross-participant similarities relative to the many vital processes simultaneously occurring within the school during the implementation of SRPs to active shooter drill. These cross-participant similarities constitute valuable examples for other schools within the district seeking to implement and achieve high-quality school active shooter drills. As mentioned, the purpose of this introductory qualitative study is to explore the challenges of public-school administrators and teachers to implement
federally mandated active shooter drills while supporting students’ psychological, social, emotional, and physical health. This study’s collected data derived from one
administrator and 10 teachers’ perceptions gathered in semi-structured interviews relative to active shooter drills. The collected data was observed, analyzed, and interpreted by various means of coding. Through my findings, I determined that an administrator and teachers perceived active shooter drills should be an informed, collaborative
implementation regularly with new improvements and taught the same law enforcement techniques and given updated ESSA, SRO, and other initiatives programs to be
adequately prepared and trained on. Additionally, most teachers described the current training as inadequate and need improvement as the students do not take the active shooter drills seriously. Future research studies on a local level should focus on broader demographics consisting of multiple school districts obtaining other constituents’
perceptions to evaluate similarities and/or discrepancies in data for a broader perspective. This might include the study of the effectiveness of existing active shooter drill programs and initiatives. For this specific school within the study, many weaknesses were
disclosed; but, all participants seemed to have taken away from the study with them the need to look at active shooter drills and/or events more carefully and be prepared to prevent the death of someone life; including their own.
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